


Just A Stalkerish Alien Perverted Prat

by UnderratedSnail



Series: The Alien Prat And Emotionally Constipated One [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, I guess some emotional angst if you squint, I had an urge to write this so now it's a thing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-24
Updated: 2014-05-25
Packaged: 2018-01-26 09:39:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1683710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderratedSnail/pseuds/UnderratedSnail
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur is an alien prat and Merlin has a lot of confused feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I basically spent a week watching and reading the manga of 'kaitchou wa maid-sama' and wanted to write this, so basically, this work is kind of based off of that series (watch/read it because it is hilarious and awesome ok), but you don't have to watch it for this fic to make any sense. Anyway, comment and tell me if it's good or bad and stuff, thanks =)

 

Five minutes. He had five minutes to get to school on time. Right, it was the only option; he had to run. Sure, he'd arrive to class all sweaty and out of breath, but that's the price he would have to pay if he wanted to keep his exceptional student reputation intact. But God, did Merlin hate Mondays.

He'd been admitted to Camelot High when he was fifteen and the school was changing from an only boys school to a mixed school. But even a year later, Camelot was still mostly populated by males. That meant there were still as many fights, dirt and sweat as there had been before. Not to mention the ugly lime green uniforms they had to wear. Alas, Merlin continued his education there, and was known as the scariest nerd there ever was.

See, education was very important to him; if he got good grades, then he'd get a good job, meaning he'd have a better income of money, so he could fix his current situation he and his mother were in. Hunith was a single parent, after Merlin's father had passed away only a few years after Merlin was born, and so she had multiple jobs to work to keep their current living arrangements. It was because of this that not only did Merlin have a huge amount of respect for his mother, but he also decided he would do everything in his power to help her out.

So he did the one thing he knew he was good at; studying. If he could get a good job that paid well, he knew that his mother would be proud, and they'd finally have enough money to keep from worrying all the time. But most importantly, his mother could take a break. That's probably what he wanted the most.

Merlin was pulled away from his thoughts when he accidentally ran into another person and fell to the ground. Pain was shooting through his left arm, but he only had a few minutes to get to class before the bell rung. He quickly got up.

"Hey!" Merlin shouted, pointing a finger at the person that was in his way. He knew that face. Arthur Pendragon.

Arthur didn't even look a little dishevelled, considering Merlin had practically ran into him with all his force.  He tried again.

"Pendragon, you know you could at least apologise." Arthur finally gave a reaction, with a little smirk directed at Merlin.

"For what?"

"For getting in my way!" Arthur turned to him, face inches away from his, and just stared at him. Moments passed, and nothing happened between the two of them.

Until Arthur, unexpectedly, gave Merlin a soft pat on the head, then turned away. Merlin saw red.

"I'm not a dog!" But Arthur didn't reply, just kept walking. He was ready to slowly and painfully kill the prat, but the thought of being late to class was an even more unappealing, so he let Arthur go, and resumed running. God, Merlin _really_ hated Mondays.

***

Lunch approached, and Merlin was attacked by his two best friends.

"Jesus, give a guy a warning next time." Merlin said, straightening his hair after he got up from the concrete ground.

"Sorry Merlin, we just wanted to surprise you, but Will pushed too hard."

"Yeah, sorry mate." Merlin smiled. No matter how annoyed he was, he could always count on Gwen and Will to make him feel at least marginally better.

"It's alright, I've gotten used to Will's violent behaviour."

"You make it out as if I'm an animal." Will spat out, and the two laughed at him.

"Are you surprised?" Gwen asked, rubbing his shoulder in a mock affectionate way. Will pretended to think about it.

"Nah, not really." And just like that, the trio began walking to the wide open field to eat their lunch.

Once they settled down, both Gwen and Will were engrossed in a conversation that Merlin couldn't even catch because he too invested in his thoughts. As painful as it was to admit, he was thinking about Arthur. It's true that Merlin didn't know much about him, but neither did anyone else. He slipped into the school half a year after Merlin came, and somehow he was loved by all. Or was scared by all. Merlin couldn't really tell.

Yet still, even though every time Merlin saw him he looked like he couldn't give a toss about anything, he still got the highest marks in the year. Higher than Merlin. That's probably what Merlin hated most; his careless attitude. No matter how hard Merlin tried, Arthur was always one step ahead of him with a bored expression on his face. On the other hand, this probably pushed him to the very best he could. No way would he let Arthur win at everything.

As if on cue, Arthur appeared to be walking across the field with his hands in his pockets.

"Is that Arthur Pendragon?" Gwen squealed. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Not you too, Gwen." Merlin whined.

"I can't help it, that boy was sculpted by the Greek Gods themselves. Not to mention that he's freaking perfect at _everything he does_. Too bad he doesn't date-"

"Not surprised," Will butted in, "A guy like him _would_ have a girlfriend."

"Oh no, he doesn't have a girlfriend, he just doesn't date. The amount of girls I've seen him reject is unbelievable."

"It's scary how much you know about him, Gwen." Merlin said, but Gwen ignored him.

"He even rejected Vivian." At that, Will's jaw dropped.

"But she's so hot." Will said, and Gwen smacked the back of his head.

"And apparently," Gwen continued, "he doesn't even live with his parents. But no one knows him well enough to know why." Merlin frowned at that. Sure, Arthur wasn't exactly his most favourite person in the world, but what happened to his parents for him to live alone? It kind of made him feel sorry for Arthur.

But then he remembered that Arthur was an idiot, and resumed eating his lunch.

When Merlin looked back up, he found that Arthur was staring at him. For some reason, something in his stomach pulled, and Merlin got confusingly angry.

"What are you staring at, you alien prat!" Merlin shouted, and he could see that both Gwen and Will were beyond shocked. Arthur was just laughed. The dumbass.

"Alien prat? Your insults get better and better, Merlin." He shouted back with an infuriating smile, and annoyingly walked away for the second time that day. Merlin let out an angry sigh.

After two minutes of complete silence, Merlin remembered that he wasn't alone, and looked up at his two friends. For some reason, their jaws dropped and their eyes were wide open.

"Flies will get in if you don't close your mouths, you know." Gwen punched his arm.

"Why did you do that!" Gwen said.

"Do what?"

"Scream at Arthur Pendragon!"

"First of all, I barely screamed, and second of all, he's a prat. Why shouldn't I?"

Will chipped in. Will was good. Will always agreed with Merlin.

"I agree with Gwen."

"Traitor." Merlin bit out.

"Sorry mate, but it's an idiot move to shout at one of the most popular people in the school. Especially if all they were doing were looking in your direction." Well, when Will put it like that, Merlin sounded like a horrible person. But they didn't understand the annoyance that was Arthur Pendragon.

"Whatever," Merlin said, gathering his things "I'm gonna go to the library and study for a bit. We have a physics test next period." And with that, he got up and left.

***

He walked into the physics classroom, and the only other person in the room was Arthur. Merlin should have guessed. Nothing ever goes well for him.

Merlin walked straight to his seat, hoping to squeeze a bit more physics facts into his brain, but nothing was going in when he could feel Arthur's gaze burn into the back of his head. Merlin put his book down and turned to Arthur.

"Can you stop staring at me, you creep." Merlin said, trying his hardest not to shout. Arthur just smiled.

"I can't help it, the back of your head is just so pretty." Merlin stood up from his seat.

"Listen here, you little-" But he was interrupted when the teacher barged into the room.

"Merlin, could you sit down, this isn't a playground." He listened to the teacher and sat down, fingers tensing as he tried not to get mad. When he turned around, he saw that Arthur was still staring at him with an annoying smirk plastered on his face, and Merlin gave him a death glare. His death glare was legendary. His death glare was what earned him the title of ' _Most scariest nerd in the school_ '. So then why was Arthur silently laughing? It just made Merlin angrier.

"Okay class," The teacher said when everyone had finally entered and sat at their seats, "You have an hour to complete this test sheet. You may begin." Merlin turned over the sheet as quickly as he could and began jotting down questions like it was what he was born to do. Today he was determined that he would beat that little arsehole Pendragon and smudge it in his stupid face.

But Merlin should have known never to get ones hopes up, because the next day when the teacher revealed the test marks, he found that he got 99. One of the best marks in the entire class, actually.

But Arthur got 100.

Had he mentioned that he hated Arthur?

When Merlin turned to the back of the class where Arthur usually sat, Arthur himself didn't even look smug. As per usual, he looked like he couldn't give a crap. Merlin didn't know whether to be relieved that Arthur wouldn't rub it in his face, or angry that even though Merlin put all his might into it, Arthur looked as if it was just another normal day.

When Arthur looked up, he met his eyes, and Merlin got that angry feeling swell up inside of him again, so he gave him another one of his death glares. Arthur just smiled, then looked back down. He didn't get it. Everyone did well to fear the death glare, but Arthur seemed to just find it amusing. Merlin would have to think up new tactics.

***

When the bell rang at the end of the day, Merlin headed home. He was lucky that he didn't live that far away from Camelot High, so he could just walk there and not have to pay a lot of money for transport.

"Mum, I'm home!" He shouted, and his mother came out from the living room and instantly began smiling when she caught sight of her son.

"Hello, Merlin, how was school?"

"It was fine, I got 99 on my Physics test." Merlin purposely left out the bit where stupid Pendragon got one mark higher than him. He didn't want to get into that anger again, after all.

"Well done! Oh, but Merlin, I know you just got home, but your work just called and they were wondering if you could quickly go there right now and work an extra shift? You don't have to, I know how much work you have to-"

"I'll do it mum, don't worry about it." And with that, he left the house and began walking.

As soon as he was old enough, Merlin began to look for part time jobs he could do to help out his mother, even a little. It was a little hard, but he finally found a small coffee shop just outside his town. Even though he had to take the train just to get there, Merlin wouldn't have worked anywhere else. The coffee shop manager, Gauis, turned out to be good friends with his mother and was made aware of their situation, so his pay check every month was a little on the generous side.

As well as that, the staff at Cafe Blue were all extremely lovely. But that wasn't to say much, as there were only about four workers including Merlin, as the shop was so small. But Merlin didn't mind, because he had made good friendships with all three of them; Lancelot, Gwaine and Elena. Of course, he was the newest employee, so if he mucked something up, they'd be the first to say in all their fiery wrath.

Once he entered, Gwaine didn't even greet him, just threw a blue apron at his head. Merlin took it off and gave Gwaine a look of disgust.

"Sorry Merlin," Gwaine said, scratching the back of his head, "I have too much studying to do tonight, so thanks for taking my shift and all, but I really have to go." Merlin smiled.

"It's fine, Gwaine, University's more important than this right now, I get it." Gwaine patted him on the shoulder.

"Thanks, you're a real mate." He said, and then he was gone.

Even though there were only four of them, they age groups were pretty diverse. Merlin was the youngest at 16, Lancelot being only a couple years older at 18, Gwaine being 20 and in university and Elena being three years older at 23. But that didn't stop all of them getting along like a house on fire.

However, Lancelot, Gwaine and Elena had all been working there before Merlin even knew Blue existed. Lancelot and Gwaine had apparently been childhood friends, and Elena had been dating Gwaine since his second year at university. And they both met because of this shop.

Even if it was small, and Merlin was fairly new to it, he had a special spot in his heart for it. If it could create the love Elena and Gwaine had for each other, then surely it could do anything.

Merlin heard the bell ring, indicating that a new customer had entered, so he ran behind the counter and put his blue apron on.

"Hello, how may I help yo-"

"Well I didn't expect this."

Arthur Pendragon. Why was it always Arthur Pendragon?

"What the hell are you doing here?" Merlin said in a low voice, hoping to god that Gauis wouldn't over hear him.

"Wow Merlin, is that any way to speak to a customer?" Arthur said, and Merlin leaned forward on the counter with both his hands.

"Get out." Arthur also leaned on the table, face inches away from Merlin's like it had been hours before.

"No, I don't think I will. You look so cute in that apron, after all." Merlin refused to blush.

"Shut up, you alien prat." Arthur grinned and pulled back.

"And at that, I'd like a coffee with milk and two sugars, please." Merlin bit his tongue and went to the coffee machine to make the drink. It took all his power and might not to spill the coffee on Arthur's face, but this was his work place, and he couldn't lose this job. For now, he's have to bite down his annoyance.

"Your coffee." Merlin bit out as he settled it on Arthur's table. Arthur looked up, and his blue ocean eyes shone through his golden fringe.

"Thank you." He smiled with his crooked teeth, and something inside Merlin pulled at him, and he had to get out of there.

"Shut up." He said, and ran to the back room of the shop. What the hell was that? Arthur seemed..civil was the wrong word, but he hadn't been a complete arse. He'd said thank you. That was good, right? God, Merlin _really bloody hated Mondays._

***

An hour passed until Arthur had finally left the shop. And he only ordered that one coffee. Alone. Merlin wasn't even bothered to express his confusion and annoyance; it had been a long day and he just wanted to go home to study before going to sleep. He could do with that right now. Sleep sounded very appealing.

When he parted from the shop and left through the back entrance, he was faced with another body and fell to the ground.

"Hey, isn't that Merlin?" A voice said.

"Yeah, it is!" Another one joined. Merlin knew those voices. When he looked up, he saw two familiar faces. Valient and Kay, the school bullies.

"Piss off." Merlin croaked as he stood up, but Valient caught hold of his right arm. He tried to escape from his grasp, but his body was too weak. Damn it, all he wanted to do was sleep.

"No, I don't think I will." Valient laughed, and the grip on his arm tightened.

But then a set of arms wrapped around Merlin's waist, and the grip on his arm faded until it was completely gone. What was happening?

"Don't touch Merlin." Arthur's voice rang, and the two jackasses ran away.

They stayed like that for a bit. Merlin was just so tired, and so comfortable in this position. But then he remembered that this was Arthur.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Get off me!" He yelled and escaped from Arthur's comforting hug.

"Is that anyway to thank your saviour?" Arthur asked mockingly.

"I was going to take them down before you showed up." Merlin said, not able to meet Arthur's eyes.

"Of course you would, with your skinny arms and massive ears."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my ears!" He said, twiddling with them with his hand. Arthur took that hand.

"I didn't say there was." Merlin, God forbid, blushed. Why was he blushing? He snatched his hand from Arthur's.

"God, you're a massive alien prat, you know!" He shouted. Arthur barked a laugh.

"Trust me, you won't let me forget it." Merlin began walking the other direction from Arthur, but he could see from the corner of his eye that he was following him.

"Are you a stalker as well now?"

"Alien stalker prat has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Piss off!" He said, and began running towards the train station. Why on earth was he smiling to himself the whole way there?

***

The next day, Merlin came in full of energy after a night of amazing sleep. He felt as if he could beat anything thrown at him, anything at all.

And that's when a handbag was thrown at him.

"Why won't you go out with me!" The loud scream of Vivian rang out. She seemed to be shouting at the one and only: Arthur Pendragon.

"Because I don't feel that way about you."

"You don't feel that way about anyone, you robot!" She threw a chair. Huh, Merlin had never been good at dodge ball, but he seemed to be a pro right now. Once Vivian stormed out, Merlin thought it safe to finally take a seat.

"You know," Merlin said, "You could have been a bit more gentle."

"I wasn't being mean, I just told her the truth."

"She's crying because of you!" But Arthur just sighed. So it seemed that the rumours were true; Arthur really _didn't_ date anyone.

Before anymore could be said on the matter, Gwen ran into the room and sat next to him.

"Hey Merlin, did you see Vivian? She's in a right state."

"Yeah, I know, it was because some _prat_ was being a douche." Merlin said loud enough for Arthur to hear. When he turned to see how Arthur would react, he just saw him grinning. "Stop grinning, you idiot!"

"Merlin!" Gwen said, slapping his arm. Merlin hadn't realised how violent Gwen really was until now.

"Don't worry, Merlin, I'll always grin for you." Arthur said, head resting in his hand.

"What does that even mean!, you creep!" Gwen had to restrain him from going up and smacking him on the face.

"Why are you so mad at me?" Arthur said, getting up. Once he got to Merlin's table, he crouched down so his head was in level with Merlin's. "Do I make you uneasy?"

Beside him, Gwen was squeezing his arm so hard that blood wasn't even getting to his hand, so he got his other hand and pushed Arthur's head away with a blank expression.

"You wish, you alien stalker." The bell rung, and a flood of people came into the classroom just as Arthur returned to his seat at the back of the class. Gwen pulled him close.

"We have _a lot_ to talk about."

Merlin was dreading lunch.

But, of course, time passing was inevitable, so when lunch finally arrived, Gwen pulled both Merlin and Will to the field by their ties and sat them down next to a large tree.

"Will, Arthur was flirting with Merlin!"

" _What?_ " Will asked, eyebrows rising.

"You heard!" Gwen said, bouncing up and down on the spot.

"Look, he wasn't flirting, he was just being an arsehole." Merlin said, but none of them seemed to be listening to him.

"Will, you should have _seen_ it! He was so close to Merlin, and you could see Merlin blushing-"

"Hey, I was _not_ blushing!"

"-And the whole thing was just adorable."

"Oh, I get it, so Pendragon is gay." Will said, face lit up as if he was a genius.

"Well," Gwen said, "I don't think that's the case. I heard that last year one of the sixth formers, Mordred, asked him out, but he rejected him just like the other girls." They both turned towards Merlin.

"So what is it about Merlin?" They said in unison, and to be frankly honest, it terrified the crap out of him.

"Look, okay, he wasn't flirting, he was being a prat, as usual. Can we drop it?" They both looked as if they were going to object, but when they took one look at Merlin's infamous death glare, they both instantly stopped and stiffened.

"No, yeah, sure dude." Will said, voice quivering. Merlin was happy. So he still had it.

***

When he arrived at Blue, there didn't seem to be a lot of customers. Merlin felt bad; he knew that the shop wasn't doing well, and yet he was still getting paid extra by Gauis. He knew that this shop had potential, but it was so small that most people didn't really give it a second look, even though it sold the best coffee there was. Merlin sighed.

"Hey, I'm here." He shouted in the empty shop.

Elena popped out from the backroom. "Oh, hey Merlin. It's been a bit quiet today, so you can go home if you want; me and Lance have got it covered-"

"No," Merlin interrupted, "I'd like to stay. If that's okay."

Elena smiled. "Of course it is." He walked to the backroom with Elena. In there was Lance.

"What are you two doing back here anyway?" Merlin asked. The back room was pretty big; it was basically everything that functioned Cafe Blue. It had a little kitchen as well as a bunch of files and documents.

"Trying to look for anything that can help us." Lance let out while searching a shelf full of paper.

"Help for what?"

"Help for advertising the shop. You can see that this place isn't nearly as popular as it once was. It looks like it might shut down, but I'm not going down without a fight." Elena declared with a wink. She'd actually make a really good speaker.

"Well, is there any way I could help?" Merlin asked.

"If you could spread the word out about Cafe Blue in any way possible, that would be great." Lance said, still searching the shelves. Merlin nodded and returned to the front of the shop, in case anyone did come in. But he couldn't help but feel a bit useless.

When it was time to leave, Merlin should have been more surprised when he found Arthur waiting for him outside the shop's backdoor.

"Took your time." Arthur said, standing right next to Merlin.

"Arthur, I'm not in the mood."

"What, so my stalkerish ways aren't helping in any way at all?"

"Look, I just found out some unfortunate news, so I'd rather if you fuck off."

"Wait Merlin," Arthur stopped him from walking away. "Is everything okay?"

He didn't know what made him give in. Maybe he was just too tired to fight with Arthur, or maybe it was the worry in Arthur's voice. Merlin decided not to over analyse it.

"Blue is going to shut down because not enough people come to it, and I can't do anything to help out."

Arthur looked like he was deep in thought. There was silence between the two until Arthur broke it.

"Leave it with me." He said, and then ran the other direction, as if he was in a hurry. Merlin was tired of getting confused by the guy, so he just walked to the train station and went home.

***

We was ready for another disappointing day at Blue, so he hadn't even bothered to look up when he entered the shop. But then he heard chatter. _A lot_ of chatter. When he looked up, there was at least two dozen people either sitting with a cup of coffee or ordering some.

When he reached the counter, he was faced with a smiling Gwaine.

"What's all this?" Merlin asked quietly, and Gwaine just gave an enthusiastic reply.

"I don't know! One minute it was so silent you would've been able to hear a pin drop, and the next, a flood of people just came in." Before Merlin could ask any more questions, another customer came to order, so Merlin slipped into the backroom.

And Arthur Pendragon was at the kitchen, cracking an egg into a bowl.

The two stared at each other in silence.

"What the hell are you doing here? You actually are a stalker! Oh God, I need to call Giaus. Get ou-"

"Merlin," Gauis said from behind him, "This is Arthur, Blue's new baker."

There was silence in the room once more.

" _What!_ " Merlin yelled. Arthur went to his side and wrapped an arm around Merlin's shoulders.

"I'm you're new co worker." Merlin pulled away.

"But this isn't even a bakery! It's a freaking _coffee shop._ "

"Ah, but you see, my dear boy," Gauis said with apparently all the freaking wisdom in the world. "Arthur was the one who brought all the customers here; with his amazing baking skills." Merlin looked over Gauis' shoulder.

"You can _cook?"_

Arthur actually looked kind of shy. It looked weird on him.

"Well, when you're living on your own, you have to learn to do some things well on your own." Huh, so _those_ rumours were also true. Come to think of it, Merlin didn't really know much about Arthur at all. Were _all_ the rumours about him at school true?

He instantly stopped that train of thought, because he had a job to do, amd had no time to think about these confusing thoughts. So he returned to the front of the shop with a smile on his face and worked alongside Gwaine and Lance. Except this time, he was pulling out a genuine smile. He was happy that Blue was finally getting recognised again. Even if would have to irritatingly thank Arthur for all his help, he decided to not think about that and just enjoy the atmosphere for now.

When the last couple of customers had left, Merlin had finished his shift and began getting ready to go home, putting on his red scarf around his neck. When he stood outside, he found Arthur leaning against the wall. He wasn't even surprised anymore.

"Look, okay, I'd just like to say..well..thanks, I guess. For all this." He gestured towards the shop, and refused to look up.

Arthur stood in front of him and lifted Merlin's chin up with his hand.

"Merlin," He said in a low voice, "What colour underwear are you wearing?"

"What the hell is wrong with you! You are such a pervert, you stalker alien perverted prat! I was trying to be nice, but then you pulled the freaking _creepy as hell_ card out of your arse. And stop laughing!"

Merlin had never actually seen Arthur laugh that hard before - he hadn't really seen him express much emotions, really - but this warmed his heart a little and he smiled himself.

But then he remembered what Arthur had said and mentally slapped himself.

"I'm leaving, and _don't follow me!"_ He said as he began running, and he could hear Arthur's distant voice from behind him.

"I'll see you tomorrow, _Mer_ lin."

***

Weeks passed, and the time for the Christmas exams were getting closer and closer. Merlin, being himself, was stressing out. He'd been studying harder than ever, so days where he was too tired to do much were becoming more frequent.

He was having one of those days where he was studying quietly in the library at lunch, trying to get away from Will's violent punches and Gwen's suggestive hints about Arthur. He just wanted to eat, sleep, and do well in his exams. Was that too much to ask?

He shook his head and began reading from his textbook when he heard a girl shouting in a whisper. He looked up and saw yet another girl being rejected by Arthur. Merlin kept his head hidden behind his textbook so he wouldn't be seen, but he could see everything pretty clearly. He saw the same emotionless expression Arthur held whenever he pretty much spoke to anyone. He also saw another girl with a book in her hand, aiming it at Arthur's head.

"Why won't you just go out with me!" She said in a quiet whisper, that was still loud enough for Merlin to hear, and he instantly thought back to those same words Vivian had spouted out weeks before. Merlin didn't realise this many girls liked that prat.

But one thing confused him. If Arthur held that kind of look with everyone he conversed with (which, to be fair, wasn't many people), why did he act like such a stalkerish prat around Merlin? Were Gwen and Will right? Was there something about Merlin..?

He quickly hid his head back behind his textbook before Arthur could spot him, and began focusing on what the textbook was actually saying. He didn't have time to analyse the actions of Arthur Pendragon. He had one mission and one mission only: To beat Arthur in the Christmas exams.

***

Even with all the exams, Merlin still had to go in for his part time job at Blue. As the days went on, people could see that he was getting more stressed by the second, so naturally, everyone was terrified to go anywhere near him.

All except Arthur.

"Hello, my favourite little bird."

"I'm not a bird."

"Your name contradicts your own statement, Merlin."

"You think you're so funny."

"I try."

"You're still a stalker alien perverted prat, you know."

"Yes, I know."

***

When Merlin had completed half his exams, he decided that he would spend a day just relaxing. He was confident in saying that he had done as much as he could for the time being, and he was always being told by his mother not to over work himself, so today was the day he'd give himself a little break.

The day was going to start with a little nap. In the past few weeks, he hadn't really been sleeping properly, so a nap-

Suddenly, his phone began ringing violently in his quiet room. Merlin picked it up.

"Hello?"

_"Hello, Merlin."_

"Wait, Arthur? How the hell did you get my number?"

_"I had to live up to my stalkerish nickname somehow."_

And with that, Merlin hung up.

His phone rang again. Merlin sighed.

"What!"

_"No need to hang up on me, I just wanted to see how you were."_

"Piss off."

_"Don't pretend you don't actually love me."_

"I don't need to pretend, you alien prat."

_"Merlin, your words hurt me."_

Merlin hung up again. He didn't even want to think how Arthur even got his number. He just wanted a little nap, for god's sake.

He was slowly getting into a deeper slumber-

Something hit his window. He got up and checked what it was. He opened the window.

"Arthur, what the actual fuck!"

"I'm your stalker, remember?"

"That's it, I'm calling the police! How long have you even been outside? It's freezing, you idiot." He closed the window and quickly put a coat on. He opened the front door, walked up to Arthur, and punched his arm.

"I can honestly say that I didn't actually expect that. Ow." Arthur began rubbing his arm, but Merlin felt no sympathy for him.

"You know you can't actually go around stalking people."

"Oh but I don't stalk people. I only stalk you."

There was a pause.

"That didn't sound as smooth as you intended, did it?" Merlin asked, a smile creeping up on his face. Arthur rubbed the back of his neck.

"Not one of my best lines, no." And within moments, the two began laughing. Outside in the freezing cold. The harsh breeze hit Merlin's face, and he finally snapped out of it.

"Do you want to come inside? You don't even have a bloody coat."

Arthur smirked. "Are you inviting me into your house, out of your own free will?"

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Just get inside, you prat."

"Yes, Sire!" Arthur mock saluted and marched into his house. Merlin caught himself smiling. Just this one time, he didn't care that is was because of Arthur.

When the two got inside, they headed to the kitchen for something to eat. Merlin didn't even have enough time to feel self conscious that Arthur could see his home.

It wasn't much; just a small kitchen, living room and two small bedrooms. And there may or may not have been holes on the wall. But none of that really mattered, because this is where Merlin is happiest; with his mum.

"So, do you want a sandwich, or..?"

"Yes please, if that's alright."

There was an awkward silence. For some reason, Merlin couldn't bare it. Was Arthur judging him? Not that he cares, of course, but he knew that this house wasn't much, and-

"Merlin, I can hear you thinking from here, you know."

"I knew you were actually an alien." Merlin murmured, but it was too quiet for Arthur to hear, so he got up and stood right behind Merlin.

"Merlin, are you alright?" He closed his eyes. It wasn't until Arthur said those words that a wave of emotions hit him all at once, and his mind was even more jumbled up and confused as ever. Why did everything have to be so confusing when it came to Arthur Pendragon?

"No, yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you sound like you just ate something extremely sour." Merlin turned around at that.

"Hey!-" But he must have miscalculated where Arthur was, because right now, their foreheads were touching. But Merlin didn't want to pull away this time.

"Arthur-"

"Pull away if you want to." Arthur said in a low voice, but Merlin kept in place. It felt as if minutes had passed, but when he felt Arthur lean it, he couldn't help but smile a little and lean in himself. At first, their lips felt like feathers, bouncing on each other, but then Merlin closed his eyes and began kissing Arthur slowly, as if trying to tell him his feelings through that kiss.

When they finally pulled apart, the two boys were still clinging on to each other, breathless.

"You're unexpectedly a really good kisser, Merlin."

Merlin's head shot up. "What do you mean, 'unexpectedly', you prat! If anything, you were really bad and-" Arthur cut him off with another kiss, and Merlin relaxed into it, laughing when they parted.

"Was that any better?"

Merlin rested his head on Arthur's shoulder. "Only a bit."

"Good to know."

"But you're still a stalkerish alien perverted prat."


	2. Chapter 2

"Guys, I might have something to tell you."

Merlin sat his two best friends in Camelot High, Gwen and Will, down by a large oak tree in the school's field and began fiddling with his fingers, not wanting the next few words to come out of his mouth. After months of convincing himself that the only true hatred he held was towards a certain prat, telling his friends that he did something that contradicts that was beyond shaming, so this was going to be hard.

"Merlin?" Gwen said, worry evident in her voice, "Are you okay?"

Merlin looked up and faced the two sitting in front of him. He couldn't be a chicken anymore. It happened a couple of weeks ago, so why was it taking him so long to tell his friends?

"Okay, I might of, maybe, kissedarthurtheotherweek." Both Will and Gwen looked at each other, then back at Merlin.

"What?" They said in unison.

"I kind of kissed Arthur. The other day. Week. Whatever."

" _Week?"_ At this point, Gwen got up and stood in front of him. " _Week!_ You mean you freaking _kissed_ Arthur bloody Pendragon, and it took you _a week_ to tell us?"

"Yes! No? I don't know. It kind of just happened." Merlin sat down next to Will, hoping to receive some sympathy from him. He knew Will since he was five. He could trust Will.

"You're a right idiot, Merlin." He should have known not to have trusted Will.

"You know, these days, you seem to back up Gwen more than you do me."

"Sorry mate, but you kissed the mysterious Arthur Pendragon. The guy that doesn't even date. And now look, you're dating-"

"We are _not_ dating." This put the trio into silence. Merlin couldn't explain it, but after the kiss he and Arthur shared at his house, it never really came up again. Sure, Arthur would still act like an alien prat, but Merlin refused to let himself get his guard down again. He didn't even know anything about the guy; one kiss didn't change that.

Gwen slapped him.

"Gwen, what the fuck!"

"Don't you dare tell me that you kissed Arthur and still hold this emotional constipation over him! Face it, you like him-"

"I do not like that arse."

"-Why can't you just let this happen?" Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Because I don't know anything about him, Gwen."

"Isn't that what dating's for?" Will said, mouthful of a ham sandwich. "Getting to know someone you like?"

"But I don't-" Merlin stopped himself and actually thought what kind of feelings he harboured for Arthur. He couldn't exactly say that he hated the guy, but the fact that the only things he knew about him were the rumours that floated around the school still stood. But was Will right? Should he _date_ that prat?

"I-I've got to go. Study." He said, and quickly got his bag and walked into the school building. He was sixteen, he wasn't meant to be going through this type of emotional crisis. He was meant to-

"Hello, _Mer_ lin." A voice whispered in his ear, and Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Don't you get tired of that?"

"No, you're scared expressions make it worthwhile." Arthur winked, and Merlin punched his arm.

"I wasn't scared."

"Whatever you say." And apparently, that's all it took for Arthur to fall into step with him to the library. Part of him wanted to tell Arthur to just piss off, but the other part just wanted to bump shoulders with him and laugh. Maybe Gwen was right; Merlin really was emotionally constipated.

"Why are you doing this?"

Arthur's eyebrows knotted together. "Doing what?"

"This. Following me around when you barely talk to anyone else." As if out of the blue, Arthur dragged him into a dark abandoned classroom and closed the door, not bothering to even open the lights.

"Arthur, what-"

"You really don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"God, you must be blind as well as dumb." Arthur leaned in and hugged Merlin. What had he done to get a hug? God, was he confused, but apparently that was normal for him.

"Arthur?"

"You can be such a prat, you know, Merlin?" Arthur mumbled into his shoulder.

"That's my line." And Arthur barked a laugh. Okay, so at least now he definitely knew that he must have liked Arthur at least a little bit. He pulled away from the hug, already missing the contact, but didn't let on.

"Arthur do you-do you want to go. On a date. With me?" He tried his hardest not to blush. He was a sixteen year old boy, not a seven year old girl. Arthur looked a little shocked at this sudden outburst, but then tried to hide it with a smirk.

"Who'd have _you'd_  be the one to ask _me_ out on a date?"

"You don't need to be a prat-"

"Yes. I'll pick you up at seven." He gave Merlin a small hug before exiting the classroom, leaving Merlin in the dark room alone. He was still an alien pervert.

***

True to his word, Arthur picked him up from his house at seven that day. He didn't know whether to feel excited or dread; this was the first date Merlin had ever gone on, and it would be with that perverted alien.

Okay, even though he had never been on a date before, he guessed that rule one would be to _not_ call your date a perverted alien. Even if it _was_ Arthur Pendragon.

"Where are we going?" Merlin asked as soon as the two arrived at a bus stop.

"I haven't thought that far yet-"

" _What?"_

"Okay, let me just remind you that _you_ were the one to ask _me_ out, so technically, you should be the one to arrange all this."

Merlin sighed. It was annoying because he was right.

"Well, I've got nothing." Merlin said in a quiet voice. Arthur just chuckled.

"Well, this date's gotten off to a great start."

"Hey, not need to get sarcastic, you arse." Arthur smiled.

"Let's just wait for the bus." Merlin nodded. He couldn't help but look down at the ground. His stomach dropped and he couldn't explain what on earth his heart was doing. He didn't know whether this feeling was good or not.

The loud engines of the bus caught his attention, and so he and Arthur entered it and took a seat near the back. The bus was nearly empty.

"Wouldn't it just be easier to sit next to the front?" Merlin asked, taking off his green beanie hat. Arthur snatched the hat and put it on himself.

"What can I say? I live on the wild side." Merlin whacked the back of his head, but Arthur just grinned at him. "No need to get violent."

"No need to be a..prat."

"I thought I was an alien?"

"That too."

"Or was it a stalker..?"

"Arthur?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Well you're just a bundle of sunshine today, Merlin."

Ten minutes passed until Arthur took hold of Merlin's arm and dragged him out of the bus. Once the bus drove away, Merlin took the time to analyse the scenery around him. After about thirty seconds of looking, he concluded that he hadn't known where the freaking hell he was.

"Arthur?"

"Yes?"

"Where are we?"

"..I don't know." Crap.

"Oh God, we're lost. We're lost and we can't even get back. What if it rains? I didn't even bring an umbre-"

"Merlin, don't be such a girl."

" _Sorry_ , some..clotpole's got us lost."

"Clotpole?"

"Yeah, it's an accurate definition of Arthur Pendragon."

Arthur patted his head. "Merlin, you're an idiot."

"I may be an idiot, but I'm not a dog. _Stop patting my head!"_ And he escaped Arthur's clutches.

This 'date' was not what he had expected. He was stranded alone with Arthur in an area he had never seen before, and he was actually having fun. But he was speaking with him how he usually would anywhere else; Arthur was still an arse and Merlin was still being a little more meaner than intended. Was it always this fun when he was around Arthur?

For once, he decided not to think about it. He was just going to enjoy himself because from what he could see, Arthur was laughing and enjoying himself. He was just going to have to put his emotional constipation aside.

Without even realising it, Merlin found himself trailing behind Arthur, who seemed to know where he was going. Then it hit him.

"You do know where we are, you arse!"

Arthur smirked. "Well, if I told you where we're going to go, then you wouldn't have agreed."

"Oh god, where are we going?" When Arthur didn't reply, he stopped walking and sat down on the pavement. It took him a moment to realise what happening, but when he finally did, Arthur turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

Merlin crossed his arms together. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me where we're going. You can't force me to go anywhere I don't want to go." At this, Arthur walked up to Merlin, and gave a hand to him to help him up. Merlin reluctantly took it and stood up.

"Okay, so tell me-" Before he could even finish his sentence, Arthur picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. " _Arthur!_ Let me _go!"_

"Can't, sorry, would ruin the surprise location."

"You are such a-"

"Perverted alien prat, yes, I know. Now shut up."

"And you said I'm a bundle of sunshine."

***

"We're here!"

Arthur finally put Merlin down, and when he turned around, the only thing noticeable was a building that was at least triple the size of his house. Merlin was puzzled.

"Why are we here?" But Arthur didn't reply, only entered the building, expecting Merlin to follow. Begrudgingly, Merlin did so.

They went into an elevator and went to the top floor, a muted atmosphere filling the air. When the doors finally opened, Arthur zoomed pass them like it was the most natural thing. Merlin, on the other hand, sauntered the direction Arthur was heading.

When he caught up with him, he saw that Arthur was standing in front of a door and was searching his pockets. A look of relief washed over his face when he pulled out a key.

"Wait, you took me to where you _live_?"

"Surprise!" Arthur said enthusiastically as he opened the door. Merlin didn't really have any other choice but to enter; he didn't even know where he was.

He might as well been walking into an abandoned warehouse. Though the apartment was very spacious, it was almost completely empty, save for the fridge, table and sofa that was in the room.

"Where are your parents?" Merlin asked, still looking around.

"I don't live with them. Sorry, I thought I already told you." That's when Merlin remembered.

"Oh yeah, sorry, I must've forgot." He made his way to sit on the lone sofa, and Arthur soon joined him.

"Do you mind me asking why you don't live with them?"

"My, it looks as if you're actually showing an interest in my life, Merlin." He said, wrapping an arm around him. Merlin pushed his arm away.

"Shut up and get on with it."

"You have such a way with words." Even though Merlin was getting annoyed, he could tell that this was a hard topic for Arthur, so he didn't push after that. He just waited. Arthur cleared his throat.

"Well, my father is currently in the United States, and he had no reason to be in London, so he didn't come with me."

"What? But, what about your mother?" Arthur gave a little sad smile at that.

"She...she passed away when I was born." Merlin instinctively got out his arm and rubbed Arthur's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Arthur turned to face him. "It's no problem. But thanks." And he put his own hand over Merlin's.

The room suddenly turned really hot, and Merlin was made very aware of his surroundings. And Arthur. He quickly pulled his hand away.

"B-but, you're, what, sixteen? Are you even aloud to live on your own without a legal guardian?"

"Oh, I've got a legal guardian. She just doesn't like me much."

"She?" It seemed that the deeper Arthur got into his story, the more interested Merlin got. But he'd never reveal that, obviously.

"Her name's Morgause. She kind of despises my existence."

"I fully sympathise with her." Merlin grinned, and Arthur snorted.

"Well Uther, my father, was happy to send me here. See, he's a big businessman over there and his life is pretty much documented in the papers, so he has this weird reputation that he feels the need to uphold. And I don't fit into that image."

God, this was heartbreaking to listen to. Merlin had always thought that Arthur was just a stuck up arse who liked to mock him, but seeing this side of his life made Merlin feel sad for him. This wasn't how a sixteen year old was meant to live life. He was meant to live with the love and support of his parents, but it sounds as if Uther just cast him aside at the first opportunity. Jesus, Arthur hid all this well.

"What image? You're his son, for Christ's sake." Merlin bit out. It took a little time for Arthur to say anything, but when he did, he didn't even look at Merlin. This looked hard on him. "Hey, you don't need to tell me if it makes you feel uncomfortable."

"No." Arthur said, head shooting up. "No, I just want to use the right words for this. See, I was Uther's illegitimate child. Morgause is the sister of my father's wife." Okay, Merlin was confused. Again. God, only Arthur.

"What?"

"My father, who is currently married to Vivienne Le Fay, had cheated on her sixteen years ago with a woman named Igraine, and I'm the result of that. Morgause, sister to Vivienne, despised Uther for it, and so her hatred passed on to me."

"That's hardly fair though, it is? You can't exactly help being born." Merlin might not have gotten it, but he knew that Uther was a real douche. He just cast his son aside, even though _he_ was the one that cheated on his wife. Arthur had no control over that.

"Doesn't matter, I didn't really have much say in it." Merlin turned quiet. His hatred for Arthur's dad definitely grew. A hand rested on his back.

"Merlin, it's fine, I'm actually happier than I have been for a long time." Merlin looked up.

"Doesn't it get lonely?"

"I guess, but I've got you now, right?" And Merlin couldn't keep it in any longer. He leant in and gave Arthur a quick kiss and then pulled him into a tight hug.

"Yeah, you do."


End file.
